Willow Glen Resident
Community
Photograph by Vicki Thompson
Barbara Howell (left) tries on a blouse designed by Willow Glen native and designer Michael Brown, whose clothing line is being carried at Alta on Lincoln Avenue. Anne Katilek and Alta office manager Laura Swanson (right) comment on how great it looks.
Hangers at Alta carry clothing designed by Willow Glen native
By Emilie Crofton
Designer Michael Brown from the clothing line Oramomi has clothes in shops from Los Angeles to New York, but it's Oramomi's arrival at Alta on Lincoln Avenue that's got the Willow Glen native excited.
Brown works with lead designer and creative director Walker Rollins at Oramomi, a fashion house in Los Angeles. The line has been sold in such stores as Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom; now he has the opportunity to sell his clothes close to home.
"I'm very grateful that I have a community that is so supportive and excited about what I'm doing," Brown says. "I'm looking forward to seeing people's responses."
Alta received the first shipment of Oramomi clothing the last week of July and the line has already generated quite a stir.
"We've had a wonderful reaction," Laura Swenson, general manager at Alta, says. "People have fallen in love with the graphics."
Brown describes Oramomi's style as "leisure wear for contemporary, fashionable and youthful spirited women."
The line consist of tank tops, T-shirts, dresses, blouses and variations of tunics made in a number of different materials. The clothes are made with see-through fabric and are for smaller body frames.
"The clothes are extraordinarily beautiful, and the fabrics are wonderful," says Swenson, who has managed Alta for 20 years. "It's so lovely."
Rollins, president of Oramomi Inc., hired Brown 1 1/2 years ago as a graphic artist to assist her in creative development. Today Brown works as both co-creative designer and graphic artist.
"It's a very cooperative job," Brown says. "We work very well together and influence one another."
In the future Walker and Brown would like to create a line for men and children.
Brown, who went to Bellarmine College Preparatory and then to UCLA, where he graduated with a degree in design, says working in the fashion industry was not something he planned to pursue.
"I've always had open and varied interests," Brown says. "My interests never really crystallized. I just follow wherever my passions take me."
And his interests range from modeling to teashops to medicine. Brown plans to apply to a graduate program in traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture while still working with Walker.
"I really love Chinese medicine because it's more abstract and visual," Brown says. "The body is seen as a visual landscape rather than scientific data-based medicine."
Brown's dream is to one day open a tea shop/clinic, with a downstairs café selling herbs, teas and tonics while running his practice upstairs.
Until then, Brown will continue creating unique designs for Oramomi clothing.
For Brown's mother, Robin, it's a mixture of pride and happiness.
"I finally have access to his clothes," Brown says. "I'm just so proud of him."
Brown's designs can be found at Alta, at1342 Lincoln Ave. Store hours are Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturdays 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays noon to 5 p.m. For more information, call 408.288. 5940.
